Zulhijjah: Eidul-Adha, Hajj, Sacrifice, etc. By Mufti Taqi

Zulhijjah: Eidul-Adha, Hajj, Sacrifice, etc.

By Mufti Taqi Usmani

Zulhijjah is the last month of the Islamic calendar. Literally, itmeans "hajj." Obviously, this name of the month indicates that thegreat annual worship of "hajj" is performed in this month, which givesit special significance. Some specific merits and rules relevant tothis month are mentioned below:

First Ten Days

The first ten days of Zulhijjah are among the most magnificent days inIslamic calendar. The Holy Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, hassaid, "One fast during these days is equal to the fasting of onecomplete year, and the worship of one night during this period is equalto the worship in the "Lailatul-Qadr".

Every Muslim should avail of this wonderful opportunity by performingduring this period as much Iba'dah (acts of worship) to Allah as he orshe can.

The 9th day of Zulhijjah

The 9th day of Zulhijjah is called 'Youmul - "Arafah' (The Day of'Arafah). This is the date when the Hujjaj (Haji pilgrims, plural ofHaajj) assemble on the plain of 'Arafat, six miles away from Makkahal-Mukarramah, where they perform the most essential part of theprescribed duties of hajj, namely, the 'Wuqoof of'Arafat (the stay in'Arafat).

The Fast of Youmul 'Arafah

For those not performing hajj, it is mustahabb (desirable) to fast onthis day according to their own calendar. It sometimes occurs that 9thZuihijjah falls on different days in different countries according tothe sighting of the moon. In such cases, Muslims of each country shouldobserve 'Youmul 'Arafah according to the lunar dates of their owncountry.

For example, if 'Youmul 'Arafah' is being observed in Saudi Arabia onFriday, and in Pakistan on Saturday, Pakistani Muslims should treatSaturday as 'Youmul 'Arafah' and should fast on that day if they desireto benefit from the fast of 'Youmul'Arafah'.

The fast of 'Youmul 'Arafah' has been emphasized by the Holy Prophet,Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, as a mustahabb (desirable) act. Accordingto a hadith, the fast of this day becomes a cause, hopefully so, offorgiveness for sins committed in one year.

Takbir-ut-tashriq

Beginning from the Fajr of the 9th Zulhijjah up to the 'Asr prayer ofthe 13th, it is obligatory on each Muslim to recite the Takbir ofTashriq after every fard prayer in the following words.

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,

La Ilaha Illallahu, Wallahu Akbar,

Allahu Akbar wa lillahilhamd.

(There is no god but Allah and Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest and to Allah belongs all praise.)

According to authentic Islamic sources, it is obligatory on eachMuslim, to recite this Takbir after every fard salah. For women also,it is commendable though not obligatory. Whether you are performingsalah with Jama'ah (collectively) or on your own (individually) makesno difference. You must recite the Takbir. However, male Muslims shouldrecite it in a loud voice, while females should recite it in a lowvoice.

On the Eid day

The following acts are sunnah on the day of Eidul- adha:

1. To wake up early in the morning.

2. To clean one's teeth with a miswak or brush

3. To take bath.

4. To put on one's best available clothes.

5. To use perfume.

6. Not to eat before the Eid prayer.

7. To recite the Takbir of Tashriq in a loud voice while going to the Eid prayer.

How to Perform Eid Prayers (Hanafi School)

The Eid prayer has two raka'at performed in the normal way, with theonly addition of six Takbirs, three of them in the beginning of thefirst raka'ah, and three of them just before ruku' in the secondraka'ah. The detailed way of performing the Eid prayer is as follows:

The Imam will begin the prayer without Adhan or iqamah. He will beginthe prayer by reciting Takbir of Tahrimah (Allahu Akbar). You shouldraise your hands up to the ears, and after reciting the Takbir, youshould set your hands on your navel. The Imam will give a little pauseduring which you should recite Thana' (Subhanakallahumma .:.). Afterthe completion of Thana', the Imam will recite Takbir (Allahu Akbar)three times. At the first two calls of Takbir you should raise yourhands up to the ears, and after reciting Takbir (Allahu Akbar) in a lowvoice, should bring your hands down and leave them earthwards. But,after the third Takbir, you should set them on your navel as you do inthe normal prayers.

After these three Takbirs, the Imam will recite the Holy Qur'an, whichyou should listen calmly and quietly. The rest of the raka'ah will beperformed in the normal way.

After rising for the second raka'ah, the Imam will begin therecitations from the Holy Qur'an during which you should remain calmand quiet. When the Imam finishes his recitation, he will recite threeTakbirs once again, but this time it will be just before bowing downfor ruku'. At each Takbir you should raise your hands up to the ears,and after saying 'Allahu Akbar', bring them down and leave themearthwards. After these three takbirs have been called and completed,the Imam will say another takbir for bowing down into the ruku'position. At this takbir you need not raise your hands. You just bowdown for your ruku' saying, 'Allahu Akbar'. The rest of the salah willbe performed in its usual way.

Khutbah: The Address of Eidul-Adha

In this salah of Eid, Khutbah is a sunnah and is delivered after thesalah, unlike the salah of Jumu'ah where it is fard and is deliveredbefore the salah. However, listening to the khutbah of Eid salah iswajib or necessary and must be listened to in perfect peace and silence.

It is a sunnah that the Imam begins the first Khutbah by recitingtakbir (Allahu Akbar) nine times and the second Khutbah with recitingit seven times.

Note:

The way of Eid prayer described above is according to the Hanafi schoolof Muslim jurists. Some other jurists, like Imam Shafi'i, have someother ways to perform it. They recite Takbir twelve times beforebeginning the recitations of the Holy Qur'an in both the raka'at. Thisway is also permissible. If the Imam, being of the Shafi'i school,follows this way, you can also follow him. Both ways are based on thepractice of the Holy Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

Sacrifice or Qurbani: Philosophy and Rules

The Urdu and persian word Qurbani (Sacrificial slaughter) is derivedfrom the Arabic word Qurban. Lexically, it means an act performed toseek Allah's pleasure. Originally, the word Qurban included all acts ofcharity because the purpose of charity is nothing but to seek Allah'spleasure. But, in precise religious terminology, the word was laterconfined to the sacrifice of an animal slaughtered for the sake ofAllah.

The sacrifice of an animal has always been treated as a recognized formof worship in all religious orders originating from a divine book. Evenin pagan societies, the sacrifice of an animal is recognized as a formof worship, but it is done in the name of some idols and not in thename of Allah, a practice totally rejected by Islam.

In the Shari'ah of our beloved Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam,the sacrifice of an animal has been recognized as a form of worshiponly during three days of Zulhijjah, namely, the 10th, 1lth and 12th ofthe month. This is to commemorate the unparalleled sacrifice offered bythe Prophet Sayyidna Ibrahim, Alayhi Salam, when he, in pursuance to acommand of Allah conveyed to him in a dream, prepared himself toslaughter his beloved son, Sayyidna Isma'il, Alayhi Salam, and actuallydid so but, Allah Almighty, after testing his submission, sent down asheep and saved his son from the logical fate of slaughter. It is fromthat time onwards that the sacrifice of an animal became an obligatoryduty to be performed by every well to do Muslim.

Qurbani is a demonstration of total submission to Allah and a proof ofcomplete obedience to Allah's will or command. When a Muslim offers aQurbani, this is exactly what he intends to prove. Thus, the Qurbanioffered by a Muslim signifies that he is a slave of Allah at his bestand that he would not hesitate even for a moment, once he receives anabsolute command from his Creator, to surrender before it, to obey itwillingly, even if it be at the price of his life and possessions. Whena true and perfect Muslim receives a command from Allah, he does notmake his obedience dependent upon the command's reasonability' asperceived through his limited understanding. He knows that Allah isAll-knowing, All-Wise and that his own reason cannot encompass theknowledge and wisdom underlying the divine command. He, therefore,submits to the divine command, even if he cannot grasp the reason orwisdom behind it.

This is exactly what the Prophet Ibrahim, Alayhi Salam, did.Apparently, there was no reason why a father should slaughter hisinnocent son. But, when came the command from Allah, he never askedabout the reason for that command, nor did he hesitate to follow it.Even his minor son when asked by his father about the dream he hadseen, never questioned the legitimacy of the command, nor did he pineor whine about it, nor did he ask for one good reason why he was beingslaughtered. The one and only response he made was:

'Father, do what you have been ordered to do. You shall find me, God willing, among the patient".

The present-day Qurbani is offered in memory of this great model ofsubmission set before us by the great father and the great son. SoQurbani must be offered in our time emulating the same ideal andattitude of submission.

This, then, is the true philosophy of Qurbani. With this in mind, onecan easily unveil the fallacy of those who raise objections againstQurbani on the basis of economic calculations and depict it to be awastage of money, resources and livestock. Unable to see beyond mundanebenefits, they cannot understand the spirit Islam wants to plant andnourish among its followers, the spirit of total submission to Allah'swill which equips man with most superior qualities so necessary to keephumanity in a state of lasting peace and welfare.

Qurbani is nothing but a powerful symbol of the required human conductvis-a-vis the divine commands, however "irrational" or "uneconomic"they may seem to be in their appearance. Thus, the distrustful questfor mundane economic benefits behind Qurbani is, in fact, the negationof its real philosophy and the very spirit underlying it.

No doubt, there are in every form of worship ordained by Allah, certainworldly benefits too, but they are not the main purpose of theseprescribed duties, nor should they be treated as a pre-condition tosubmission and obedience. All acts of worship, including Qurbani, mustbe carried out with a spirit of total submission to Allah, irrespectiveof their economic, social or political benefits. This is what Ibrahim,Alayhi Salam, did, and this is what every true Muslim is required todo,

Keeping this in view, we are giving here some rules governing theworship of Qurbani in our Shari'ah according to the Hanafi School.

The Time of Qurbani

Qurbani can only be performed during the three days of Eid, namely the10th, Ilth and 12th of Zulhijjah. It is only in these days thatslaughtering of an animal is recognized as an act of worship. NoQurbani can be performed in any other days of the year.

Although Qurbani is permissible on each of the three aforesaid days,yet it is preferable to perform it on the first day i.e. the 10th ofZulhijjah.

No Qurbani is allowed before the Eid prayer is over. However, in smallvillages where the Eid prayer is not to be performed, Qurbani can beoffered' any time after the break of dawn on the 10th of Zulhijjah.

Qurbani can also be performed in the two nights following the Eid day, but it is more advisable to perform it during daytime.

Who is Required to Perform Qurbani?

Every adult Muslim, male or female, who owns 613.35 grams of silver orits equivalent in money, personal ornaments, stock-in-trade or anyother form of wealth which is surplus to his basic needs, is under anobligation to offer a Qurbani. Each adult member of a family who ownsthe above mentioned amount must perform his own Qurbani separately. Ifthe husband owns the required quantity, but the wife does not, theQurbani obligatory on the husband only and vice-versa. If both of themhave the prescribed amount of wealth, both should perform Qurbaniseparately.

If the adult children live with their parents, Qurbani is obligatory oneach one of them possessing the prescribed amount. The Qurbani offeredby a husband for himself does not fulfil the obligation of his wife,nor can the Qurbani offered by a father discharge his son or daughterfrom their obligation. Each one of them should care for his own.

However, if a husband or a father, apart from offering his own Qurbani,gives another Qurbani on behalf of his wife or his son, he can do sowith their permission.

No Alternate for Qurbani

Some people think that instead of offering a Qurbani they should giveits amount to some poor people as charity. This attitude is totallywrong. Actually, there are different forms of worship obligatory onMuslims. Each one of them has its own importance and none of them canstand for the other. It is not permissible for a Muslim to performsalah instead of fasting in Ramadan, nor is it permissible for him togive some charity instead of observing the obligatory Salah. Similarly,Qurbani is an independent form of worship and this obligation cannot bedischarged by spending money in charity.

However, if somebody, out of his ignorance or negligence, could notoffer Qurbani on the three prescribed days (10th, 1lth and 12thZulhijjah) then, in that case only, he can give the price of a Qurbanias sadaqah to those entitled to receive Zakah. But during the days ofQurbani no Sadaqah can discharge the obligation.

The Animals of Qurbani

The following animals can be slaughtered to offer a Qurbani:

1. Goat, either male or female, of at least one year of age.

2. Sheep, either male or female, of at least six months of age.

3. Cow, ox buffalo of at least two years of age.

4. Camel, male or female, of at least five years of age.

One head of goat or sheep is enough only for one person's Qurbani. Butas for all other animals like cow, buffalo or camel, one head of eachis equal to seven offerings thus allowing seven persons to offerQurbani jointly in one such animal.

If the seller of animal claims that the animal is of the recognized ageand there is no apparent evidence to the contrary; one can trust hisstatement and the sacrifice of such an animal is lawful.

Rules about Defective Animals

The following defective animals are not acceptable in Qurbani:

1. Blind, one eyed or lame animal.

2. An animal so emaciated that it cannot walk to its slaughtering place.

3. An animal with one-third part of the ear or the nose or the tail missing.

4. An animal that has no teeth at all, or the major number of its teeth are missing.

5. An animal born without ears.

The following animals are acceptable in Qurbani:

1. A castrated he - goat. (Rather, its Qurbani is more preferable).

2. An animal that has no horns, or its horns are broken. However, ifthe horns of an animal are uprooted totally so as to create a defect inthe brain, its Qurbani is not lawful.

3. An animal the missing part of whose ear, nose or tail is less than one third.

4. A sick or injured animal, unless it has some above mentioned defects rendering its Qurbani unlawful.

The Sunnah Method of Qurbani

It is more preferable for a Muslim to slaughter the animal of hisQurbani with his own hands. However, if he is unable to slaughter theanimal himself, or does not want to do so for some reason, he canrequest another person to slaughter it on his behalf. In this casealso, it is more preferable that he, at least, be present at the timeof slaughter. However, his absence at the time of slaughter does notrender the Qurbani invalid, if he has authorized the person whoslaughtered the animal on his behalf. It is a Sunnah to lay the animalwith its face towards the Qiblah, and to recite the following verse ofthe Holy Quran:

I, being upright, turn my face towards the One who has created theheavens and the earth, and I am not among those who associate partnerswith Allah. ( Al-An'am, 6:79)

But the most essential recitation when slaughtering an animal is:Bismillah, Allahu Akbar. (In the name of Allah, Allah is the greatest).If somebody intentionally avoids to recite it when slaughtering ananimal, it does not only make his Qurbani unlawful, but also rendersthe animal haram, and it is not permissible to eat the meat of thatanimal. However, if a person did not avoid this recitationintentionally, but he forgot to recite it when slaughtering the animal,this mistake is forgiven and both the Qurbani and the slaughter arelawful.

If somebody is unable to recite "Bismillah Allahu Akbar" in the Arabiclanguage, he can recite the name of Allah in his own language bysaying, "In the name of Allah".

Distribution of the Meat

If an animal is sacrificed by more than one person, like cow or camel,its meat should be distributed equally among its owners by weighing themeat strictly and not at random or by mere guess. Even if all thepartners agree on its distribution without weighing, it is still notpermissible according to shari'ah.

However, if the actual weighing is not practicable due to some reason,and all the partners agree to distribute the meat without weighing,distribution by guess can be done with the condition that each sharenecessarily contains either a leg of the animal or some quantity of itsliver.

Although the person offering a Qurbani can keep all its meat for hisown use, yet, it is preferable to distribute one-third among the poor,another one-third among his relatives and then, keep the rest for hispersonal consumption.

All parts of the sacrificed animal can be used for personal benefit,but none can be sold, nor can be given to the butcher as a part of hiswages. If somebody has sold the meat of the Qurbani or its skin, hemust give the accrued price as sadaqah to a poor man who can receiveZakah.

Hajj

The most important way of worship performed in this month is "hajj",one of the five pillars of Islam. The Muslims from every part of theworld assemble in Arabia to perform this unique way of worship. Hajj isa worship, which requires at least five days to be performed in itsproper way. There are detailed rules for different acts of hajj forwhich separate books are available, and the present article does notaim at explaining all these details. However, some basic informationabout its obligation is being given here:

1. Hajj is obligatory on every adult Muslim who can afford to go toMakkah during the hajj season, whether on foot or by any othercarriage.

2. If a person can travel to Makkah to perform hajj, but he cannottravel to Madinah, hajj is obligatory on him also. He can perform hajjwithout visiting Madinah.

3. A Muslim woman cannot travel for hajj unless she is accompanied by amahram (i.e. husband or relative of a prohibited degree like son,father, brother etc.) If she does not find any mahram to accompany her,hajj is not obligatory on her until she finds one. However, she mustmake a will that in case she dies before performing hajj, his heirsshould arrange for her hajj-e-badal out of her left over property.

4. Hajj is obligated only once in one's life. After performing theobligatory hajj; one is not required to perform it again. However, hecan perform the nafl (optional hajj as many times as he or she wishes.)

Zulhijjah: Eidul-Adha, Hajj, Sacrifice, etc. By Mufti Taqi

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